Eula spread her hands with a troubled expression. She said this because she noticed that her previous words had made Lance frown and show dissatisfaction, so she had to find a way to make up for her earlier ambiguous remarks.
Surprisingly, her playful banter seemed to ease the displeasure on Lance's face.
After all, having been partners for over a decade, Lance knew Eula's personality well. Although she appeared profound and mysterious on the outside, he knew that sometimes she could be quite whimsical and unpredictable.
"Alright, what brings you here?" Lance asked, changing the subject. Eula noticed his relaxed demeanor and a sly glint flashed in her blue eyes, realizing she had dodged a bullet.
She quickly replied, "Nothing much, I came to check on Miss Jones and see if you wanted to join us for breakfast downstairs. Now that Miss Jones is awake and seems fine, would you like to join us for breakfast?"
"Would you prefer to have breakfast downstairs or in the room?" Lance gently asked Deanna instead of answering Eula directly. This made Eula's previously calm heart stir once again. She lowered her eyelids, her long lashes hiding the malice in her eyes.
Deanna had already made her choice and decided to go downstairs for breakfast. After all, it would be impolite to stay in the room for breakfast when the host had come to invite them.
Just as the three finished their breakfast, Xavier arrived.
Seeing Deanna sitting in the living room, he asked with concern, "Missus, are you feeling alright?"
"Thank you for your concern, Mr. Nelson. I'm fine for now," Deanna replied with a smile.
Xavier nodded, "That's good to hear." He then looked at Mr. Mercer. Although he didn't speak, Lance understood his meaning.
"Eula, I remember you have an extra study here. May I use it?"
"What extra study? I prepared it specifically for you," Eula corrected Lance with a playful eye roll. Lance glanced at her but didn't argue.
He then turned to Deanna and said, "I'll go upstairs for a bit and be right back. If you're tired, feel free to rest in the room. If you want to go out for a walk, Eula can accompany you."
Although Deanna felt uneasy about the earlier conversation, she didn't show it. She smiled at Lance and said, "Go ahead, I'll take care of myself."
"With me here, do you think I can't take good care of your fiancee?" Eula chimed in with a raised eyebrow.
Lance looked at her seriously and said, "I'm counting on you to take care of Deanna." With that, he signaled Xavier to follow him upstairs. Soon, the two disappeared up the stairs.
Deanna and Eula also looked away from each other. Eula's eyes flashed with a hint of malice but quickly concealed it. She smiled innocently at Deanna and asked, "Miss Jones, would you like to rest in your room or take a walk in the garden?"
"Uh, I'll go back to my room," Deanna replied, feeling an inexplicable sense of discomfort from Eula's smile. Besides, she didn't feel very familiar with Eula and preferred not to trouble her.
However, Eula insisted warmly, "Going back to your room is fine. I'll accompany you; otherwise, it would be quite boring for you alone."
"There's no need," Deanna tried to refuse politely.
But Eula found an excuse and said, "Miss Jones, don't feel embarrassed about troubling me. Lance specifically asked me to take care of you before he went upstairs. Come on, I'll help you back to your room."
Without giving Deanna a chance to refuse, Eula supported her and walked toward the room on the third floor.
Meanwhile, Lance led Xavier to the study. Once inside, Xavier began his report without waiting for questions. "After you left last night, I immediately had people check who had been to the top floor. However, the records from the castle showed that apart from the missus, there was no one else!"
"No one else?" Lance repeated in disbelief, frowning before asking, "What about the surveillance footage?"
Xavier replied, "We checked the surveillance as well; there were no anomalies." This meant two things: first, there were no issues with the surveillance itself; second, no one had tampered with it. Lance understood these implications and frowned even more deeply.
Xavier then remembered something and said seriously, "Mr. Mercer, during our investigation into the missus' situation, I discovered something else. At last night's banquet, the missus' half-sister attended along with Raphael. Given their status, they shouldn't have been able to attend this event."